Remember the First 100 Registrants Receive the Free Tee-Shirt!

Volume 5, Issue 2 – September 13, 2017

5th SFA ANNUAL PUMPKIN RUN Calling all runners and walkers! Join us at our 5th Annual St. Francis of Assisi School Pumpkin 5K Run (Walk) on Saturday, October 21st at 10:00 a.m. at SFA. Following the run, there will be post-race festivities and awards! Don’t miss out on this event!

Remember the first 100 registrants receive the free tee-shirt!

In addition to runners and walkers, we need sponsors and volunteers! Please consider a family or business sponsorships that will be listed on the backs of the Race Shirts. What a great way to advertise your business! Deadline is October 10th!

We need people to help set up, clean up, direct foot traffic, man the start and finish, and assist with post-race festivities. For more information, please contact Kim Dee at 617- 639-7642 / [email protected] or Mari-Joy O’Leary at 617-271-3705 / [email protected].

Attached to this email is the Pumpkin Run Registration and/or Race Sponsor Form. Families may also register online at RaceWire.com.

Join the School Band & String Program – As you may have heard, our music program at SFA is expanding to now include instrumental lessons and band. These lessons are being offered to our students in grades 1 – 8. Last Thursday, representatives from Paul Effman Music visited our school and demonstrated to our students the various instruments that would be offered.

Also last week, your children brought home the Instrument Rental & Purchase Form. In order that we may proceed, the form asked that the form be completed and returned with payment to our School Office by Tomorrow, Thursday, September 14, 2017. Thank for you for your cooperation! Please note that a Form has been attached to this email.

Expectation Night (Grades 1 – 8): Our “Expectation Night” for grades 1 – 8 will take place tonight, Wednesday evening, September 13th at 6:00 PM for grades 1 – 5 and 7:00 PM for grades 6 – 8. This evening will give you an opportunity to meet your child’s teacher and learn of plans and curriculum for the year.

All-School Liturgy On Thursday, September 14th, our school will be attending an All-School Liturgy at 8:45 a.m. as we celebrate our Opening of School. Our grade 6 teacher and students are planning and coordinating this special liturgy. All are welcome to attend.

Dress Down Day – On Friday, September 15th, our school community will be holding our first Dress Down Day of this school year for the Catholic schools and all those affected by Hurricane Harvey. The National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA), which all Catholic schools are members are asking every Catholic school around the contry to sponsor a Dress Down Day and contribute at least $1 per students to help Catholic schools impacted by the storm to rebuild, reopen and re-enroll students. “Student to Student: A Catholic School Response to Hurricane Harvey” is a powerful opportunity for us to engage our students in living the Gospel message of compassionate service and generosity to others.

School Nurse Position Available – It is with great regret to announce that Ms. Michelle Margeson, our school nurse will be leaving us. She has accepted a new position and I want to take this opportunity to express my appreciation and thank her for her fine work that she has given to our students and school. She will certainly be missed.

Therefore, St. Francis of Assisi School is currently seeking a full-time nurse to join our school for the 2017 – 2018 academic school year. The school nurse is responsible for maintaining the school’s health policies and programs. The primary role is to promote health education and to provide preventative health services to facilitate the physical, cognitive, emotional, and social growth of our students. If interested in applying, please send a letter of interest, resume and license(s) to Brian Cote, St. Francis of Assisi School, 850 Washington Street, Braintree, MA 02184 or via email at [email protected]. For more details regarding this position, contact Brian Cote at 7811-848-0842 x12 or via email.

Senate Immersion Module (SIM) Field Trip - On Tuesday, September 19th, the eight grade students from Quincy Catholic Academy, St. Paul, St. Jerome, Sacred Heart and St. Francis of Assisi School will participate in a collaborative field trip to the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate. Through their participation, Deliberation, Negotiation, Debate and Role-Play are the tools our students will use to engage in the Senate Immersion Module (SIM). At the Edward M. Kennedy Institute’s full-scale reproduction of the U.S. Senate Chamber, our students will experience this hands-on approach to learning about representation and the legislative process. Using tablet technology, our students will work together to create a bill on a historic issue or current policies affect the country. This institute is dedicated to educating the public about the important role of the Senate in our government, encouraging participatory democracy, invigorating civil discourse, and inspiring the next generation of citizens and leaders to engage in the civic life of their communities.

MAP Testing St. Francis of Assisi School, along with all of our schools in the Archdiocese of Boston will continue to use and implement the NWEA MAP on-line assessment tool for all students in grades one through eight. This testing is not done to measure one school against another or solely to identify a student’s strengths or weaknesses. Test results are evaluated by teachers to assure that individual academic growth occurs and that the flow of curriculum avoids repetition and allows for our curriculum to fully benefit each child. Listed below is the proposed Fall 2017 schedule: Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

11 12 13 14 15 8:15 – Gr. 8 Math 8:15 –Gr. 4 Math 8:15 – Gr. 8 Reading 8:15 – Gr. 8 Lang. 8:15 – Gr. 7 Math 8:15 – Gr. 3 Math 8:15 – Gr. 7 Reading 9:00 – Gr. 7 Lang. 9:00 – Gr. 6 Math 9:00 – Gr. 6 Reading 9:00 – Gr. 6 Lang. 18 19 20 21 22 8:15 – Gr. 1 Math 8:15 – Gr. 4 Reading 9:30 – Gr. 2 Math 8:15 – Gr. 5 Math 8:15 – Gr. 3 Reading

25 26 27 28 29 8:15 – Gr. 1 Reading 9:30 – Gr. 2 8: 15 – Gr. 2 Reading Reading

2 3 4 5 8:15 – Gr. 5 Lang. 8:15 – Gr. 4 Lang. 8:15 – Gr. 2 Lang. 8:15 – Gr. 3 Lang.

Forms - The start of any new school year is always overwhelming and busy with various new forms. I thank you in advance for your support and cooperation in completing these forms and returning them to school in a timely fashion.

Upcoming Enrichment Programs

Small Group Piano Lessons - Piano Playtime offers a unique music education experience using peer group motivation and a playful approach to teach children the piano. The program reaches younger children on their level using an age-appropriate curriculum and color coded system, workbooks, songs, props, and improvisation to keep them engaged. Lessons for older children include traditional studies of notation, theory, and staff music, which is easily transferable to other instruments. This approach gives students a solid foundation of musical knowledge, while balancing these concepts with a lighthearted, exciting tone to keep their attention. Group lessons have no more than three students per class which is the lowest student teacher ratio available in this setting. Our classes will be conveniently held at the SFA campus after school on Mondays. Tuition is very affordable at only $65 per month with a onetime $25 registration fee for new students. Children between the ages of 3 and 14 are welcome to participate. For more information please visit www.pianoplaytime.com or call or e-mail Molly Howard at 617-999-8794 or [email protected].

Individual Piano Lessons – Mrs. Murray, our music teacher at SFA has limited spots available for indivudal piano lessons. For more information, please contact her at school 781-848-0842 or email her at [email protected].

Chess Wizards – Once again, SFA presents Chess Wizards for the Fall 2017! Chess Wizards is a premier chess education company providing fun, informative and challenging chess lessonsto students. Chess Wizards teaches children many important life concepts, such as learning the ability to win graciously and accept defeat with dignityand sportsmanship.Students will be divided into groups according totheir chess experience. At the end of this session, each student will have had the chance to participate in a mini-chess tournament. Attached to this email is a flyer outlining this enrichment program, dates, and registration information.

Facebook – Make sure you check and like us on our school’s facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/sfabraintree